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The Lawless Court: Overruling Stenberg v. Carhart
By Chuck Colson
A Nebraska law banning the murder of partially delivered infants was
struck down yesterday (June 28, 2000) by the Supreme Court.
It's a classic example of judicial overreach. The Court refused to allow
any impediment to the taking of innocent human life when a woman's right
to abortion is at stake. This means that the gruesome procedure of
partial-birth abortion, at least under the Nebraska circumstances,
cannot at this time be stopped.
By overruling the position taken by the legislature‹that is, the people
of the State of Nebraska‹the court has once again said it knows better
than the people, that it alone will say what the law is.
This horrendous procedure, also known as "dilation and extraction",
allows the abortionist to reach into a mother's womb, grasp her baby's
feet, and deliver him‹except his head. He then punctures a hole in the
baby's head, vacuums out his brains, crushing the skull, and delivers
the dead child.
This procedure is so repugnant that some nurses, like Brenda Pratt
Shafer, who assisted with the procedure, have left the medical
profession altogether. Sickened by what they saw, they vowed never again
to take part in such an act‹and mind you, nurses are often among the
strongest pro-choice advocates.
But even without witnessing the act itself, more than sixty percent of
the American people believe partial-birth abortions ought to be
outlawed. Thirty states have passed bans to do so. Partial-birth
abortion is the kind of horror it shouldn't take a law to stop; but the
fact that this court would overturn Nebraska's ban is chilling.
But even so, there's still hope, and Christians must not give up the
fight to defend the most defenseless members of our society. In the
first place, abortion advocates picked one of the weakest and most
ambiguous cases to appeal to the Court. This decision was based on a law
that was badly written. Nebraska's lawmakers DID open themselves up to
the charge of trying to stop all abortions. This gave our opponents
their best opening.
And the fact that the Court decided that killing nearly born infants is
constitutional may yet move some who have been ambivalent about abortion
to see this horrific practice for what it is. It is an educational
opportunity. Every time this issue is publicized, more and more people
realize that partial-birth abortion kills an innocent child at the
moment of delivery.
And the further good news within yesterday's bad news is that the Court
was narrowly divided over this issue, as indicated by its 5 to 4 ruling.
I had, I confess, expected it to be 6 to 3. So, we are just one vote
away from changing the balance of the Court‹and this in turn will affect
the outcome of future abortion rulings.
As the election rhetoric heats up this fall, remember we're just one
vote away from restoring sanity to the courts. And the next president
will appoint as many as four new members. So listen carefully to what
the candidates say and don't be discouraged.
This is just one round that we have lost yesterday. The battle will
continue.
Copyright (c) 2000 Prison Fellowship Ministries
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